


Ghosts

by Legendary5



Category: Zombies Run!
Genre: Death, Gen, Mentions of Death, vague runner five backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:00:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25787731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Legendary5/pseuds/Legendary5
Summary: For the Zombies, Make! Prompt Challenge.Ghosts haunt Five. They always have.
Kudos: 6





	Ghosts

**Prompt 3: @sikenpoems: Measure yourself against truth and not the other way around, says the ghost.**

Ghosts haunt Five.

They always have.

From the time she was a child until now, Five has always been surrounded by ghosts.

Sometimes, late at night, she still sees them. It was a rare occurrence before, when zombies didn’t wander the earth, but now they are as commonplace as the walking dead themselves.

The ghosts of her parents: her father, who died long before the outbreak, but still haunts her dreams, his face gray and rotting, blue and purple discoloring his tanned, olive complexion.

And her mother, whose fate she doesn’t know, but often wonders if not knowing is better. Sometimes her mother is alive and whole, the same way she saw her before she left for England. Sometimes, her mother’s jaw is missing, pulled clean off and tongue lolling out. The eyes are empty and clouded, and her fingers are reaching, clawing for blood.

Sometimes, Five sees her brother the same way; but she knows in her heart, that though she believes he may still be alive, more than likely he is among the ranks of the dead. She prefers the former over the latter; her brother was — is — strong and capable, a man with many talents and strengths. If anything, he would have been a better runner for Abel than Five, if he had made it here.

And then there’s her friends. Their ghosts are the hardest ones to see of them all. The pilot of the chopper who brought her to Abel; Lucy, a young mother who wanted to do more at Mullens. That flight had been her first solo mission, something Lucy had been so proud of.

Harder still are those she’s worked with during her time at Abel. Chris, Evan, Maggie, and others. There were always others, people she doesn’t even know. People she hadn’t been able to save; their ghosts came to the gate every night.

Sometimes she sees Sara, serene and peaceful, or Archie’s infectious smile.

(God, she misses Archie and Sara)

She was too late to save Archie, and Five regrets it more than anything. Kneeling beside her friend, cradling her with Jamie, wishing Archie would open her eyes and smile, ask why they were crying.

And Sara, who had missed her boys so much, despite her sharp exterior. Five had promised to send Van Ark after her, as Sara lay gasping her final breaths.

“That’s my Five,” she had said, many times, smiling warmly. It was like having a second mother, receiving praise for a job well done.

There was the memory of Lem, who she almost saved; she doesn’t know why she remembers him. Maybe it was because he helped her from beyond the grave, or maybe because he was her first failed rescue. She was still a new runner, inexperienced and unhardened from experience. She had wanted to save him, didn’t want to believe he’d been bitten, but when he gave her his headset and ran, her heart had broken.

And there’s the new nightmares.

She sees Van Ark, a burning corpse, pointing an accusatory finger at her as he turns to ash. He doesn’t speak, but his anger is clear.

She sees Moonchild, late at night, hanging from the top of the building.

“I’ll get there first,” the apparition says before letting go and falling, falling into the dark.

And the Fives awakes, panting, panicked, sweat clinging to her face and body.

And she wonders what will kill her first, the zombies…. Or the ghosts.


End file.
